is your day eaten alive with every request, phone call and event? learn what really works to manage your time. maybe you control your time, but all else is chaos. find out how to simplify your life. >> the folks from the center, hear their strategy to make it so. i'm susan sikora and that is on "bay area focus" next.

omplish certain welcome to the show. i'm susan sikora. it happens everyday, maybe 20 you. you begin in the morning intending to accomplish certain tasks. then distractions, phone calls, someone needs a favor. a chat goes long, an emergency goes long, you need a break, a snack or a nap and the day is gone, but not your tasks. can you control your time? author and public relations consultant explains how in her

book time management in an instant. also you coauthored this with keith bailey. >> yes. >> just about any page will help, but you said work backwards. >> if you have a deadline for something or something you have to deliver. thing to do is start from figuring out when you have to deliver it and work backwards. what are the steps you have to take so you can figure out the timeline. if you have to be at someplace at 10:00 in the morning, you have to think of ten minutes for traffic, ten minutes for parking, ten minutes to get downstairs and find the keys. so part is working backwards is looking from the result back in time to see what the steps are you need to go through. most people don't do that. they can miss stuff doing that. >> sometimes there are things

you cannot control. >> because you get the call in the middle of work and you find out your child got sick and you have to pick them up or you get a flat tire. >> that has to do with the fact we live an incredibly interruns driven workplace. you need to fold in that there will be interruptions and people still don't operate that way. but the reality is we live in that kind of workplace. >> it is with us at traffic, in work and in your home. that is the phone. it can ring and the chances you pick it up. >> a lot of people screen their cars, yes, i do, but the truth is, if i can't take a call at that time, i will get back to them later. >> part of it is back to the thing about being interrupted.

people get interrupted by a telephone call, the average time they get back to what they were doing beforehand is something like ten minutes so by then your mind is out of what it was doing and you have to get back into the rhythm of it. if you're working in a very focus led time, turn your phone to silent if you don't have the discipline and if you to have the discipline, just let the phone ring and let the voice- mail get it. during that window of time you're not going to answer the telephone or check your e-mail. >> you mentioned priorities. >> a lot of people think some things that are priorities that should not be. how do you decide what a priority really is? >> most people what they prioritize is by crisis. what fire will be the biggest, loudest, worst. that is my a priority. the reality if you just do that, the things that move you

forward to your goals never get done. the things that move you forward to your goals are not the things that are pressing down on you. they are not the things with the most pressure or crisis associated with them. so in pr and time management, we say you have to make your apriorities those things that are the things that are moving you forward in the direction of your goals and objectives personal or professional. >> ney can get intermixed. >> personal can be just as important as having a balanced life. >> i have a friend who was a politician for awhile in new jersey way back when and he told his secretary that he returns calls between 30 clock and 4:00 p.m. and if it is an emergency to tell him, but there was a hit list to get through at any time, his wife, his daughter. he made that list and maybe

four or five people on it, that was it. >> exactly. that is part of the prioritizing. find out how much of the personal time gets spent compared to how much of the work time. if you start to look at your poor ortiz and distinguish this has to get done because it is ur judges but it is not an a priority because it doesn't move me to my goals, but if you do at least one of those move me toward my goal items everyday, it can change the entire way you view your day. >> it assumes people are clear on their goals. we ask people and they can't answer where do you want to be? procrastination. a lot of people will say that is not a priority, but they know it is, but they don't want to do it. if you have a list of six things to do in one day and there are some things you hate and dread, are you better off doing those first and getting

them done or doing them at the end? >> you're better off getting those done first and out of the way. you know when you have a burned out bulb and you'll walk by 50 times and it takes an hour to think about it, but it takes two minutes to change it. you are better off getting it out of the way. >> do time planning where you basically say i'm going to write that report. that is what you were procrastinating. i'm going to write that report or clean out the closet, i'm going to do that on wednesday between 2:00 and 4:00. turn on your iphone or open your calendar and time block it. really write in there clean closet or do tax return or write tax report from 2:00 to 4:00. >> set a timer in 15 minutes suggest met else. anybody's brain can live with.

i only have to do this for 15 minutes. some people can only handle five minutes. i'll set a timer on my iphone. the timer goes off and you go, i could do a little more of this, because once you're in it, now you're in the momentum of getting it done. very different than thinking about it i have to do this, how am i going to do it. very different. >> the book is called time management in an instant. thank you for being here. >> my pleasure. >> we'll get the rest of your life organized like your space. stay with us.

closets -= anyplace holding the okay. you're controlling your time with your lists and priorities and your focus and getting rid of distractionings but your backdrop, home, office, desk drawer, closets, anyplace holding the stuff in life or your work, chaos on steroids. she is a bay area professional organizer and yesterday our ability to sort stuff is desperate enough to have to pay for help in doing it. welcome. how is business? >> business is great. >> i'll bet it is. let me get the sexist point out of the way first.

i have a theory. men can't get rid of things more than women? >> that is false. women are more apt to ask for help although i do have a lot of men clients as well, but it is skewed more towards women asking for help. >> women hold onto things as much as men? >> women are cen ty mental as well. >> i can go through your stuff much more easily than i can go through things that i own. >> i have everyone have somebody who is not emotionally attached and does the know how much you spent for an item because they come with a different per speck tive. a lot of times people say i know how much i spent on this and i hate to get rid of it. >> especially with clothes in a clos sent i wore it once to a wedding. it is not in style now. i don't like the color but i spent so much on that. >> and you're going to keep it

and you shouldn't. >> who needs the most help witness? are these people that fall into this dna, not section, i know, all right. or just the way they are? the way they live? what their psychology is made of. >> there are studies done that are starting to link people with a.d.d. into sort of the hording mentality and it is because if you can't focus long enough it is hard to make the decision and all of the clutter and piles are really postponed decisions so if you can only focus for a very short amount of time it is hard for you to stay with the project and really work through it. >> you brought up the h word, holding. we have seen the disasters that are pathetic on oprah and various shows. what is the difference between someone who has a problem sorting and getting rid of stuff and it is okay, but they can get through the stuff

versus someone who hoards and can't get rid of anything? >> psychological disorders typically. the hoarders have gone over the edge a little bit. i'm not a psychologist so for me, i really can't work with hoarders. i can work with recovered hoarders who are now at the point where they are able to get rid of things but that is an issue i'm not trained to handle. >> what about attachment to things? some people get attached to things, because it is a status symbol. i don't want to get rid of this bag because i have it and my friends don't, or the car, things that are sitting around not being used but it says i had enough money to buy that once. >> keeping up with the jones'. that is what has gotten a lot of people in trouble. >> give me some ideas. if i'm going to tackle the closet and i want to get into

it. it is overwhelming. i stand there and i think where do i begin? >> step number one, the things that you absolutely love and there are two ways to thinking about it. you're going on a trip, you'll take your favorite things with you or your house is burning down. >> what are you going to grab? it is those great items you feel good in, they just work so well for you. >> isolate them. >> take those and isolate them. >> then i'm left with most of it. >> then you go to the basics, whether the standard items. it is a white t-shirt or silk blouse. it is still in style but not warn out. pull those out and say, why do they work, is it a certain brand, style, fabric, cover horse? what is it that make them the items i love and you're going to write those down, so when

you're shopping, this is your success list. >> that is what i take with me when i shop and if it doesn't fit that, i should leave it alone. >> yes. >> what is left in the closet and why? is it fabrics, styles, brands? what is it that is not working for you? >> it could be i don't like 3/4- inch sleeves and i put that on my list of don'ts. then the other thing is to be careful when you're shopping. you don't want to buy it just because it is a great price. it is on sale. you're out with friends or in a panic, i have an event this weekend and i need this get something for that. well you probably have something already. if you're going to buy in panic mode you're likely to make another mistake. >> put back only the things i love and use, the things i grab in the fire should i have time. is there any way to set those

up, so i can find them quickly? >> it depends on the situation how much space you have and whatnot. i typically try to categorize things, this is my business, casual business or dressy weekend, really casual weekend. i just did a closet. she lives in the mountains and it was do i get in my car and go to town and this ace prepare rather for that or is it for walking the dog or grun gy working in the house, painting. for her it was eye opening to have these categories. >> sounds like what you described i can apply that to bill paying too, that kind of thing or paperwork. 80% of the paper, i heard this once, you file it away and never look at it again. is there in a way to organize?

i put it alphabetical. >> that is absolutely one way to do that. another way is how you think in your mind. is this for work, bill paying? about the family? so the car insurance, health insurance, things like that. so i really try and work with the client on an individual basis and how their mind thinks and set up a system. >> this sounds like it will take a lot of time. once i get in there, i think this will take hours. i don't do it. sue bender an author said sort for one hour. do you but a time limit on it? >> it depends on how much time is a lotted. that is one thing people have to really think about. they need to be honest on how much time they have to dedicate. if you're going to do a wardrobe to do a garage, it is an all day project but if you

can't do it all day, you have to parcel it out with how much time you have. >> when you throw up your hands and say i'm not getting anywhere, that is when you get a pro. >> theresa, we thank you for being here. >> your web site is simply organized.com. next, how to keep peace in the streets when we return. thank you. they want justice in the system, opportunity in the cities and peace in o

the cities and peace in our streets. "they" are the folks at

er center in oak welcome back. they want justice in the system, opportunity in the cities and peace in our streets. they are the folks at the ella baker center in oakland, a human rights agency now 14 years old and dedicated to making changes somewhat deem impossible. but she has a program that goes for ten months, heel the streets. it is kind of a fellowship. >> yes. >> it is a ten month program. we pay young people to be trained as advocates for the policies in the cities of oakland. >> let's talk about oakland. there are challenges there clearly. we hear a lot of bad news coming out of oakland. it is violent. we worry about citizens, kids. what makes you think this program is going to fix things? >> oakland is like many urban communities in the united

states and a lot of times it is young people of color who are the victims of violence but there are also the ones perpetrating the violence due to the systemic causes. those things are the reasons why we feel if we can address them with the young people and get them to speak on those issues and speak about their experience, they will be able to sway policy and the ideas for people affecting their life everyday. >> they do certainly create poverty. a lot of people in the dispratt time we live in, in a recession, a lot of folks think it won't hit them and it has. maybe some see where somebody could do something like that. to say it is possible as a human being to get to appoint where you are desperate. what kinds of things are causing that poverty to make that happen other than the

recession? >> it is appoint of desperation. they follow on the teen joblessness so they did surveys with business owners, they interviewed policy makers today figure out the correlation. generally speaking we could say yes if you don't have a job, you could be more likely to commit a crime but it is also if teens don't have a job and they are being held responsible to take care of their family and they have this pressure to be the next generation of leaders, but there is no one ho will hire them. business owners are looking at them as criminals. there will be repercussions for that. those are the causes we're talking about. we have recommendation and findings that were given to the committee meeting and we're going to try to work with them to get some ideas into policies moving forward.

>> so the kids know what is wrong and they are not going to hold back. do the leaders listen with an intent to do something? >> i believe they do. we have had a lot of support in the city of oakland. a few council members are active and support nonviolence in oakland and support policies measure wide, a violent prevention fund that gives money to org nations from street outreach to funding organizationings to help keeping teens out of the prostitution, a whole are ray of activities. >> you're young, compelling, i would think people would be interested in something, she is kind of cool. how do you make it cool because kids are discouraged with a tough reality out there.

how do you get them compelled -- how do you bring them into the tent and then tell them what you are going through. >> i am from flint, michigan which is similar to oakland. i know that they have the guts, they have the heart and all the knowledge. they just need the tools to put it into practice. as long as they know i'm there to support them unconditionally, they will do the work. they are learning how to lobby and we take them to city council meetings and school board meetings. we have the york officials come to the young people so they don't feel that intensity or stress when it first a 17-year- old, let's go meet a person that is going to run for mayor. like what does the mayor do? >> it is like trying to break those barriers so they feel empowernd and confidence so they can do what they need to. >> this is the first year of

the program. we graduated the first class. >> tell me, any success es that stand out? >> all have graduated high school and going to college in the fall. 8 people stayed through the whole ten months so we have three of them who are staying local here. one is going to western career. one is going to mall den and the other to cal. state. >> fantastic. >> do you try to get even though they will be busy going on to busy things which was your goal i'm assuming, do you hope maybe in some spare time on a break in the summer they might come back and mentor because there is nothing like experience and success to say here is what happened to me, i have been where you are. i have done what you did. look at me now. >> they all want to come back as fellows in the second year or come back as facilitators to help manage the meetings with me and do a lot of background

work to help the young people coming into the next group because we're taking in 20 in the fall so they can guide them. i think the group i have this year, because they know they are the first group, they have taken ownership of it and they are out recruiting. >> pioneers. >> they are going to make it amazing. >> if they are watching and say maybe i can try that, where do you go? >> call me. you can visit ella baker center.org. >> ella baker center.org. if you're a kid watching this and you do not have a computer, i'm fully aware not everyone has them. the public library i believe you can go to and use the computer for free. >> yes. >> thank you for the work you're doing. >> for more on heal the streets, go to ella baker

center.org. she performs at davey symphony haul october 10th. i'm susan sikora. thanks for watching. ♪